Hi folks! I have been a member of AAW for several years, but this is my first posting. I am also a neuroscientist, and I love the idea of merging my interests. This vessel is made of fiddleback maple with copper leaf and pyrography around the rim -- depicting what hippocampal pyramidal cells look like, with Golgi (silver) staining. This area of the brain - and these cells - are critical for forming new memories. A close-up of the rim of this vessel has been accepted as 'cover art', later this year, for the Sept. 2011 issue of 'Alzheimer's & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer's Association'! I am really excited about this. Best wishes to all.